Child Labor in India. Dangerous pesticides in Brazil. Civil
War in Somalia. Starvation in the Congo. Nuclear disaster in Japan. We pretend
to care because we don’t want to sound ignorant or insensitive. We don’t want
to be politically incorrect, but do we really care? Why should we?
As long as we eat blueberries grown in Peru and drink orange
juice from Brazil… As long as we drive cars manufactured in Japan and pump oil
into them from the Middle East… As long as we watch televisions and talk on
phones made in South Korea … As long as we show off gold and diamonds dug up
from the earth of West Africa… As long as our children play with toys and wear
clothes labels “Made in China”… WE HAVE TO CARE.
There are over 1000 U.S. military bases in 38 countries around
the world. Schools and hospitals in Afghanistan and Palestine are being bombed
with ammunition marked “U.S.A.” Despite the media exposure, children and adults
in West Africa are still losing lives and limbs working in mines for minimal
wages so we can support our fetish for diamonds and gold.
How long will we continue to live life with our blinders on?
You may not think you have a voice, but you do because one voice can inspire
another voice and another until there are millions of voices demanding justice,
transparency, and morality.
Do you want to know how your voice can be heard the loudest?
With your dollars! Every U.S. dollar we spend will undoubtedly affect someone
else in another part of the world. We are global citizens, whether we like it
or not! And it’s about time we realize we have an obligation to our neighbors-
whether they live in Mexico, Uganda, or Syria- to take responsibility for our
words, our actions, and our economic power.
The next time you are watching the news and the biggest
story is about celebrity so-and-so’s baby bump, or engagement, know that you
are being numbed and distracted from what is really going on in the world.
Certain powers would love it if we remained in our ignorant bliss. They would
love you to think they know what they’re doing with YOUR TAX DOLLARS. They got
it handled, right? Because us peasants are too dumb to really understand what’s
going on at home and abroad anyway, right? WRONG!
I’m not telling you to jump in the nearest protest or picket
line (although, it wouldn’t be such a horrible idea). I’m just saying: WAKE UP!
